Linus Launcher
Linus Launcher ''(previously known as ''Phantom Flyers), is a Kite Flyer carnival ride located in the Planet Snoopy section of Kings Island. It originally opened in 2006 as part of the transition of Hanna-Barbera Land into Nickelodeon Universe, where it was themed to Danny Phantom. It was also one of the few rides in the expansion to be built from the ground up, rather than a retheme of an existing ride of Hanna-Barbera Land. Following Cedar Fair's acquisition of the Paramount Parks, the ride continued using its theming of Danny Phantom ''until the conclusion of the 2009 season, when all previous intellectual property themes were dropped, including Nickelodeon's characters, when Nickelodeon Universe was rethemed to Planet Snoopy. History At the time of its opening, the ride was themed to ''Danny Phantom, whose titular character was featured in both the ride logo and on the sides of each of the ride cars. Portaits of various ghosts where also seen on the arrows that indicated what direction the ride traveled in, though they were of generic ghosts, and not any major ghost antagonists such as The ride is now themed to a running gag in the Peanuts ''comic strips when Snoopy's actual dog behavior becomes more apparent, and he attacks Linus' blanket as if it were a chew toy. Unfortunately for Linus, his connection to his blanket leaves him unwilling to let go, and he is then dragged by Snoopy for considerable amounts of distance, and sometimes thrown around when Snoopy swings the blanket around before letting go, and launching him, hence the name. Since the retheme, almost all references to ''Danny Phantom have been removed. All of the ride cars have had painted over to remove Danny from them, while the ghosts that originally appeared on the arrows are replaced by portraits of Linus being dragged by Snoopy via his blanket. A statue of Snoopy sitting in a casual manner is located in the center of the ride structure. Strangely, the green ghost effects of the original ride design have not been altered. These are only visible when the ride is in operation, which may have been why they were left as is. Trivia * Interestingly, sister park Carowinds' also featured a ride named Phantom Flyers during Paramount's operation of their theme parks, but this ride was actually Kings Island's former Flying Eagles, ''which had been relocated to the park. Kings Island would later open a new version of this ride in 2015 as ''Woodstock Gliders, in the former location of Snoopy's Splash Dance. ** Carowinds would also rename this version of the ride to Woodstock Gliders, but it was removed in 2018 when Carowinds converted Planet Snoopy to Camp Snoopy, and later reopened elsewhere in the park as Mountain Gliders, without any theming to an intellectual property. * Since being converted to Linus Launcher, only one element based on Danny Phantom remains in the ride. The green ghost effect design of the original ride can still be seen when the ride is operating. This may have been why they were left as is, as it would have required an unnecessary amount of extra work to fix this. Category:Current Attractions Category:Planet Snoopy Category:Outdoor Attractions Category:Carnival Rides Category:Family Attractions Category:Thrill Rides Category:Nickelodeon Universe